Criminal Law Archive

Best Dating Advice for Online Dating: Mum’s the Word re: Murder!

November 26th, 2012. By johnnyspade

If you’re reading this, you’re about to get the best “how-to” tip for creating a successful dating profile on the top dating websites. You ready? Here it is: don’t tell prospective dates that you killed your husband. That kind of info probably won’t land Mr. Dreamboat. But you should probably have a little more background on this one, so read on…

See there’s this woman from Vermont—Christine Billis—who, back in 2009, was in an awful car accident. She was driving and her husband, Charles Billis, was in the front passenger seat. Christine apparently had her seat belt on; Charles did not.

The accident occurred on Route 5A in Charleston, VT. Christine, at the wheel of the car, drove the car into a tree. She survived, her husband did not.

At first, it appeared to be just an awful accident. After all, what else could it have been?

Life went on and Christine must’ve felt it was time to get back into the game of love, so, she joined the online dating website, OKCupid. (Note for those who care, About.com calls it the ‘best free dating site on the web’…fwiw). Hey, Christine knows how to pick ’em.

Ahh, but she did not know how to pick her guy. Heck, who does when just about anyone can create a glowing, attractive profile online, right? Everyone’s so beaauutiful and successful there…

Well, Christine fell—hook, line and sinker apparently as she felt super-comfortable letting it rip with one particular suitor. That would be Kevin Leland. She trusted Kevin for sure—otherwise she wouldn’t have told him (in Leland’s words, according to a report on NECN.com), “I killed him. I drove him into the tree on purpose. I did it on purpose.”

Christine, Christine, what were you thinking? Didn’t you know that Rule #1 in dating—especially online dating—is don’t reveal everything? You know, a little mystery is sexy—that sort of thing?

Well, reveal she did. And then Kevin did a little revealing himself. To the local police!

Sidenote: Kevin, our seemingly angelic tattletale, was caught at a later date at the border with a gun and drugs, according to a report by WCAX.com. Earth to Christine…

Oh, should mention, too that Kevin started blogging about his new ‘police informant’ role as well—the pic of Christine Billis above is from his blog.

Long story short—and fast-forward—Christine was charged with first-degree murder. The charges were ultimately reduced after a plea bargain deal for manslaughter, for which Billis has now been sentenced to 7 – 15 years in prison. Moral of story: if you’re going to commit murder, don’t share that little tidbit with your online dating connections.

Aside from the fact that Christine is living proof of the dangers of feeling too comfortable online with people you don’t know, and aside from the fact that a man was killed, reports indicate that the reason Christine Billis took her husband’s life was because she suffered from his mental and verbal abuse.

Abuse of any kind is serious—but killing someone is not usually the way to go unless, one could imagine, it’s truly in self-defense. Any woman (or man) who is suffering from abuse by a spouse or partner should contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit www.thehotline.org. You can also visit www.safehorizon.org.

Posted in Criminal Law, lawsuits | 17 Comments »

Judge: Dimwit Driver to wear Idiot Sign for Stupid Traffic Move

November 9th, 2012. By AbiK

We’ve seen a lot of stupidity on the pages of our Totally Tortelicious posts–but we continue to be amazed at the extent some folks will go to in an attempt to beat the system somehow.

Take Shena Hardin.

Ms. Hardin apparently doesn’t like waiting those few precious minutes we all have to wait when a school bus comes to a stop, puts on those flashing red lights and shoves that little stop sign out. Most of us just stop (hello, child safety)—but Shena? No, that little stop sign might just as well have been the street version of a toreador’s handkerchief. Only she wasn’t about to charge the thing, she had a better plan!

Ms. Hardin thought she’d found a way to deal with her daily annoyance of getting stuck behind that damn school bus. She decided she’d go around the bus—but not on the street as, well, that might get her a ticket of course. Hell no—she took the sidewalk instead!

That’s right—she took the sidewalk. In her car. Drove right down the middle of it. (See the video above).  And according to WPTV News Channel 5, she did this daily—so it wasn’t just some “I’ll duck down, hit the gas, go around the bus and hope nobody sees me—just this once” kind of thing. No—this was her longer-term solution to waiting for that damn bus to get moving.

It gets better.

Ms. Hardin forgot that we live in an age of smart phones—you know how they have those handy built-in cameras and all. So the Cleveland Metropolitan School District bus driver, Uriah Herron, decided to take a little video of Shena’s slick move.

Seriously—look at the video above. That’s Shena there—cruising right around the school bus on the sidewalk on E. 38th Street between Superior and Payne Avenues in Cleveland. Just listen to the kids on the bus—the laughs, the OMGs and WTFs.

Tags: Cleveland OH, Idiot Sign, School Bus, Shena Hardin, Totally Tortelicious, Traffic Violation
Posted in Criminal Law, Emerging Issues, Totally Tortelicious | 1 Comment »

5 Reasons Why Alleged Law Student Bird Beheaders Messed Up Big-Time

October 15th, 2012. By AbiK

Want to be a lawyer when you grow up? Here’s a tip: don’t do anything stupid that will give you a criminal record. The equation is simple enough. Stupidity + criminal charges = the lawyer version of “The Scarlet Letter”.  Allegedly beheading a helmeted guineafowl that’s kept in a tourist-laden Wildlife Habitat at a hotel in Vegas would be an example of the “stupidity + criminal charges” equation in action. And, that’s just what two law students from UC Berkeley School of Law have been accused of doing.

According to an ABC News report, Eric Cuellar and Justin Teixeira, both 24 years old, were jailed on suspicion of conspiracy and willful malicious killing of wildlife as a result of their being caught on surveillance video chasing a helmeted guineafowl into some trees then emerging from those trees with the bird–but not the bird’s head–and reveling in their antics.

It’s an embarrassment to the profession all around. But here’s the top 5 reasons why the Berkeley Bird Beheaders messed up big-time with this one–assuming the allegations prove out…

1. It was STUPID. They elected to be complete morons in front of who knows how many surveillance cameras. Begs the question—what were they thinking? They’re law students. They apparently want to finish law school, pass the bar and get a job. There is absolutely nothing here that exudes tactical brilliance. (Refer to “The Scarlet Letter” equation above).

2. It lacks complete regard for #KnowTheCode. Vegas has tried hard—real hard—to upgrade its image over the years. They finally latch onto a campaign—”What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” along with the #knowthecode hashtag—that’s humorous and can appeal to a wide audience—and these two idiots not only bring Vegas behavior back down a notch–but they get caught AND their actions get more publicity than if they’d had a top NYC PR firm working on it. They deserve to be reported—and anyone who feels like doing so can report #knowthecode behavior violations at the Visit Las Vegas website here.

3. It can result in a criminal record. For both of them. Enough said.

4. It’s an example of the worst kind of animal cruelty. If the allegations turn out to be true—which, yes, they appear to be given what’s on the Flamingo-cam—then the disregard these two have shown for life is appalling. Considering those rumors about PETA throwing paint at fur-wearing pedestrians, it’s worth pondering what PETA would do with these clowns (though they’ve already done the worst to themselves).

5. It’s just not cool. A rock star—take your pick—Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper—who has rumors flying around about eating live animals onstage or throwing animals out into the audience can be cool (at least to a certain element of the population). But only because they’re RUMORS and they never actually happened (hey, even Snopes says so). Cross the line into reality, and it’s no longer cool. It’s pathetic. Ditto Cuellar and Teixeira—rock stars they’re not.

As a follow-up, the San Francisco Gate is reporting that the dean of UC Berkeley’s law school has stated he was “extremely troubled” by the arrest of the two law students. He also said he was concerned about “the students’ actions off campus, but it’s up to the Nevada legal system to examine the facts and rule in this case. It’s premature to speculate about any possible consequences. The justice system must run its course.”

Yeah, run its course it shall. The boys behind the bird beheading are due back in court on February 11th. In the interim, SF Gate reports they’ve made bail. Stay tuned.

Tags: #knowthecode, Eric Cuellar, Flamingo Hotel and Casino, Helmeted Guineafowl, Justin Teixeira, Las Vegas, law students, UC Berkeley Law School
Posted in Criminal Law, Emerging Issues, lawsuits | 4 Comments »

WhosArrested.com: Like Facebook for Criminals

April 14th, 2011. By AbiK

Who’s Arrested? Check out the “wall” posts at WhosArrested.com. It’s like Facebook’s dark twin (as opposed to the twins who’ve been suing Facebook). Well, it could be.

Think you’ve had a rough night—maybe a DUI or some drug possession charge—or maybe a bit of assault and battery—and you’re thinking as you awake the next morning—phew!—that at least the prior night is over with and who of your friends and family needs to be the wiser as to how you spent it?

Ah, but that was before you realized that your local public criminal record database is…drumroll please…online! Complete with all your vital stats, what you’ve been charged with, what bond was set at, and your mug shot if you’re lucky. Heck, if you’re a recidivist, you may even get a virtual contact sheet of your best mug shots.

Why, there’s a guy from Tampa who’s been racking up charges since 2006—27 individual counts in all, strikingly in line with his 27 years of age (though they occurre in just a 6 year period)—his contact sheet of mug shots are sort of like looking at all of someone’s uploaded Facebook profile shots—or your kid’s annual school pictures (‘my how’s he’s grown since ’06!’). Only you can’t comment on or thumbs-up these. And I can’t help but wonder how many pen pals this guy could rack up at Jailville, if it existed (note to Zynga).

Granted, the site is in a bit of a fledgling stage—it only covers 5 major metro areas right now: Las Vegas, Miami, Reno, Tampa and Phoenix—clearly hot spots (at least temperture-wise) for crime. But the information is updated with apparent frequency. Case in point—for the week March 3-9,  those five cities have racked up the following numbers of arrests: Las Vegas – 1,176; Miami – 274; Reno – 256; Tampa – 537; and Phoenix – 248.

WhosArrested does allow individuals who are profiled to remove their listing (delete post? yes!) from public view, and ultimately search engines. But before you wipe the sweat from your brow, there’s a bit of a catch: it’ll set you back $99. Some might argue that’s a bit discriminatory—ie, you can pay your way out of infamy, if you can afford it. Perhaps another form of ‘profiling’? 

Regardless, WhosArrested.com is a bit of a neighborhood watch team’s dream. With stats like the fact that domestic violence tops the list in Vegas while possession is tops in Miami, along with the individual profiles, it sure beats trying to pull together the weekly local news police blotter. Split your WhosArrested screen with your local sex offender registry (nsopw.gov) and you’ve got pretty good tabs on the hood.

While WhosArrested may not be a friend’s wall I’d like to appear on anytime soon, it’s one that might be worth an occasional visit…

Tags: arrests, criminal record, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, public criminal record database, Reno, Tampa, WhosArrested.com
Posted in Criminal Law, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »